MBB: Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association

[midline]

Quick note on last night's K game....solid game for soph Mat Kellogg. He finished with 12 and 7, and I believe all his points came in the 2nd frame. Most importantly - only 1 PF. He is such an active, aggressive player, if he stays on the floor for the Hornets, all the better. Poor outing for young McCain - 0 for 3, no boards, 3 PF, 3 TO's. Picked a good game for a bad showing. Hopefully that is out of his system.

[almcguirejr]

Calvin's defense held Crawford to 4-9 shooting in both games this year.
Crawford almost had a triple double last night:

       12 points         9 rebounds         9 turnovers

[tniem]

DK:  Nice shot on the 3200, however, remember that is before they let in the extra 300 or so the fire marshall never seems to account for in Holland.   With the fan support in Holland why not build the De Vos at least 4500?  Calvin did it way back in 64/65.

Without going into all the arguments one more time, I will just give you one stat this time, last night's Calvin/Albion total - Attendance: 2950.

Makes a ton of sense to have those other 1300 seats doesn't it?

[tniem]

I like the position the Hornets are in right now. At Calvin on Sat will certainly be tough, but hopefully the environment will give the younger players a taste of the atmosphere in the upcoming tourney. Should the Hornets get out of the first round, having just played at Calvin a week earlier might help their chances against their 2nd round opponent.

Which should be back at the Fieldhouse.

Passage has done a great job this year. Clearly, his most dangerous team since 02-03.

Agreed.  The Hornets are playing great ball right now.  Wasn't sure they could be in this position when we began the league - and I was not alone.  But they have played well and if they were a lower seed, they would have a chance to be playing later than expected.  (I just am not convinced they can beat Calvin in GR).

[AndersDY]

Kalamazoo coming around is strange for me to hear about as I only saw their trip to Holland where they looked quite awful (of course that's playing against Hope, but my recollection was as much Kzoo hurting themselves as Hope making them look bad). From what I've heard since that time, it sounds like the coach must be doing a nice job with that team.

The way the conference standings broke out this year sure looks interesting with a dominant 3, 3 in the basement and Kzoo and TriState serving as a dividing line. In looking at the standings in my program last night, it would seem we should just take a break, play Kzoo against TriState next Wednesday and then the matchups for next weekend are locked in already:

Calvin v Kzoo/Tri State
Hope v Albion

... and then of course I log into D3Hoops and BW and Witt both went down in flames last night. Can't get ahead of myself and assume we know how it will play out this time of year. Still seems pretty safe to plan for that layout next weekend though given it would take a road win by Alma/Olivet/Adrian to screw that up. I guess I can always hang onto the hope that whoever finishes last will trip up Calvin on Wednesday to clear the way for an improbable MIAA tournament played at Hope.

[realist]

Sac:  Thanks for the postings on Calvin/Albion.  Always nice to hear from an objective 3rd party.
Tneim:  Thanks for posting the attendance for last night, however, a more relevant statistic would be how many times has Hope "sold out" the De Vos?  If they have repeated sell outs, than they built too small.   
It would seem to me that if Hope were to win out from here on they have a very good shot at hosting at least round one.   Gosh, wouldn't be a problem filling the seats those nights!
Yes, the plans for the makeover of the Knollcrest fieldhouse are nice, and permanent seating is part of the plan as it has been explained so far.
Coach Passage has done a very good job since coming back to K.  He had a good mentor in Chicago, and in the MIAA you have Turner, GVW, & KVS to learn from.  If he restores the twirling sportcoat throw down
frosting for the cake!!

[midline]

Andersdy, you saw K's worse performance of the season, without question. They were just coming off two poorly played games in Florida after their long winter break. Plus, they do not match up well against Hope, as their 2nd loss to the Dutch proved. I think the turning point for K this year may have been the first Albion loss. Maybe they began to believe in themselves a little more after hanging with a team that was considered by many to be the best in the league at the time.

[oldknight]

The refs could not see BC's bird.  He flipped it to the north bleacher section while on the blocks waiting for a Calvin free throw.  I saw it clearly -- as did many of the fans in the north bleachers. 

I saw it too. It was hard to miss seated 10 feet away. After Brandon gave the crowd the finger someone gave Crawford a memorable verbal rejoinder that caused me and several others to laugh--so memorable I've already forgotten exactly what was said but it was something to the effect of how Calvin's post play was eating his lunch. Maybe goodnight will remember. He was seated even closer to Crawford than I was.

[Briton Backer]

Believe me, sitting so close last night and hearing the stuff coming out of Draayer's mouth, I don't think any Calvin fans want to get into a discussion about various players' class.  Let's just chalk it up to the frustration of 2 players who were frustrated by hard nosed defense and a lack of any sort of protection from the officials all night.  These guys are in college.  Drop the playground tattle tale bs, it is not appealing.  Be glad you won and get over it. 

[basketballbob]

Isn't it a little ironic that Calvin is ranked 4th in the regional rankings and Hope 5th? Basically a tie. Hope beat Calvin by 18 points and it wasn't even that close. Calvin beats Hope by 1 point and it is the only time they lead in the whole game ! Oh, I forgot Kevin is on the regional committee!!!

I'm glad the Tournament will be at Calvin. Hope must show everyone they can win on the road. It will soon be time for Hope to put up or shut up. They have the talent, do they have the will to win? They need to play to win, not play NOT to lose.

[Pat Coleman]

It's not ironic, it's inaccurate.
http://www.d3hoops.com/dailydose/?p=128

Great Lakes
1. Wooster 18-1 22-1
2. Baldwin-Wallace 19-2 21-2
3. Wittenberg 16-2 21-2
4. Carnegie Mellon 14-3 18-4
T5. Calvin 9-1 18-5
T5. Hope 14-2 21-2

[basketballbob]

Sorry, a fifth place tie, the same thought applies though.

[Stinger]

Realist, if Coach Passage was reading your post, I'm sure he wouild appreciate the compliment, but would  have a very nice chuckle.  I hardly think he takes too many coaching lessons from GVW, KVS and Turner. RP played and coached for one of the best, Joe Haklin. He then did a hell of a job at Chicago with Coach McGrath for three years.

The thing I like about RP is that he is doing his best working for a college that still doesn't give a rats a&& about athletics.  When Kzoo hired James Jones, everything changed for K and sports.  A large percentage of students at K are involved in sports, and they don't do it for craps and giggles. It's a huge part of their life.  I just wish the college could see that. RP has many recruiting challenges that others in this conference don't come close to having. 

The jury is still out on new Pres. Dr. Wilson-Oyelaran. 

[ziggy]

Sorry, a fifth place tie, the same thought applies though.

There isnt anything really wrong with the regional rankings.  You may disagree with them as a result of the Calvin and Hope head to head results but you have to look at the overall regional record, which Calvin holds the advantage in.  The only anomaly I see is Carnegie Mellon and their three regional loses above Hope and Calvin, althought CM has the best QOWI in the region.

[dothedew]

Not to get ahead of ourselves....but I'd be interested to know what scenarios need to happen to get 3 MIAA teams into the NCAA tournament this year? SAC...you seem to have the best grasp on the way this can play out...however with the expanded field this year this will be difficult. If Albion were to lose in the MIAA tourn. championship will this be enough to get in?? Or will they need to win the whole tourn to get that automatic bid?
I personally think that by making the championship game they will have had to beat Hope which would then give them a spot in the dance?
I also like the question of whether or not Calvin or Hope will host the NCAA's if they win the tourney?
IN OTHER WORDS PLEASE EXPLAIN HOW THE NCAA's WILL BREAK DOWN...and the new rule with ONE SITE or something along that line?
I appreciate it!